Man sought in series of Philadelphia robberies
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are searching for a suspect and a number of accomplices in a series of robberies in West and Southwest Philadelphia.
It all began back on November 27th at the GM Mini Market at 401 North 64th Street.
The suspect normally wears a mask, but he somehow forgot to wear it once and was captured on surveillance video.
"He enters the store and robs it, the owner chases him and they wind up shooting it out on the street," Philadelphia Police Lt. Johnny Walker said.
Neither man was injured.
Then on January 27th, he is seen along with another man exiting a dark colored Chevy Monte Carlo.
Moments later they hold up the Haverford Grill at gunpoint in the 6500 block of Haverford Avenue.
On January 29th, they hit the Eagle's Corner Chinese restaurant at 62nd and Spruce.
"Grabs the front store employee, puts him in a bear hug, they start wrestling with the gun, money falls to the ground," Walker said.
The thieves were startled when the owner pulled a gun.
He chased after them and fired striking one of them in the back. That person, 26-year-old Markquise Vanlue, showed up at a hospital and ended up getting arrested.
The store owner says he had been robbed four times before since 2015, says the atmosphere now on the streets is very dangerous, and decided to arm himself.
"This time there's real danger because everybody is pointing a gun to you; they try to threaten your life," owner John Zhang said.
And apparently the incident did not deter the main culprit.
Police say he went off and got another accomplice to continue the robbery spree at the Vine Street Deli at 262 North Simpson.
"You'll see a video where he puts a mask on, but he puts the mask on backwards and tears it, but still goes in and tries to complete the robbery, you clearly see he doesn't know what he's doing," Walker said.
But there have been two incidents now where shots have been fired and police are very concerned about innocent people being hurt.
Anyone with information should contact police.
